The Museo della Cattedrale (Cathedral Museum) is located underneath the cathedral itself. Access is through the door under the magnificent Romanesque bell tower, remarkable because it encloses a second, smaller bell tower, dated to the late 10th century.

The archaeological excavations, carried out under the sacred building between 2007 and 2008, revealed the evolution of the Roman public area, the area on the eastern side of the
forum, the site of a building from the 1st-2nd century AD, later built over privately in the Late Antique era, the foundation of the first church in the 6th century (which, with the baptismal font, allows the date of the origins of the diocese of Alba to be confirmed), the early medieval transformations and the Romanesque and Renaissance renovations.

The museum consists of archaeological exhibits with informational displays and two galleries, the Crypt of San Pietro and the Sala dello Stemma, which house early medieval liturgical artefacts and the lapidary collection with finds from the Romanesque and Gothic cathedral and Bishop Andrea Novelli’s Renaissance building.

As they walk through, visitors can admire display cases holding ceramics from the Roman and medieval periods; Late Antique and early medieval glass fragments, which form a small liturgical treasure trove; painted plaster from the decoration of the building during its earliest period, destroyed by rebuilding in the late 15th century; and coins, including Justin II’s pentanummi, the first case of finding a Byzantine example in a Piedmontese excavation.

Museo della Cattedrale (Cathedral Museum):

Piazza Rossetti, 12051 Alba (CN) – entrance from the bell tower
+39 345 7642123
museo@alba.chiesacattolica.it
www.mudialba.it

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday from 3 pm to 6 pm
Saturday and Sunday from 2.30 pm to 6.30 pm

Tickets
Adult € 3,00
Concession (under 18) € 1,50
Integrated – Sistema Museale Albese € 6,00